A difference of perspective
Why don’t awesome futbol players like Falcão and freestylers like Billy Wingrove, Sean Garnier and Indie Cowie play for big clubs or at least professional football teams or national teams?
This was a question posted by someone on Quora which you can view here.
Now this got me thinking that is this what people think of when they see a freestyle footballer performing? Seriously? Instead of appreciating for our unnatural talent they point questions at us thinking that we are incapable of playing normally as we are supposed to (according to them). Why people why!
I gave an answer there and I am giving the answer here. It is just about preference of someone. If one likes practicing freestyle football and not play football on a pitch that is completely his choice. It has nothing to do with his physical level anyhow. In fact I believe that a freestyle footballer has to have a better physical health and a healthy mental attitude than a regular football player. Still comparing it here would cause a massive debate that I just don’t want to create. So let’s just say that a different set of skills are required for different variations of football sports played around the globe.
But why do people have such an attitude towards freestyle football? Why do they find it so difficult to differentiate it from mainstream football and see them as different sports as they are? If I were to blame one thing I would blame the social media.
Okay okay I do accept that social media is the reason that freestyle football has gained a lot of popularity in recent times, but some people have been using this platform to misguide people into believing what freestyle football is (I won’t name names, but you know who “2" I mean). And NO! Crossbar challenges, tekkers, bottle flips and trick shots stuff are NOT FREESTYLE FOOTBALL! Please don’t spread these videos saying awesome freestyle skills. It’s just not correct!
There’s nothing wrong with these videos or any of this stuff, but they are not what freestyle football is. They are not even close to be honest. Real freestyle football is so much technical and creative than these things.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZsH2SV2Kso
The other problem I believe that although the actual freestyle football is appreciated by a fellow freestyler, a normal onlooker might find difficult to understand everything that is being done. I speak this from experience! People won’t even bat an eye when I would do a 30–40 hit combo but a simple trick such as carousel would send them screaming out of their lungs in no time.
I want to mention so many people here but I just can’t! AAAHHHH!
Also what I believe is that when you do something you like, something that you truly do for yourself, you just do not care whether you are being appreciated or not. You just do that thing out of passion and love for the thing, not to gain followers on Instagram or subscribers on YouTube. So real freestylers won’t care much on how the world sees them.
To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
The solution to this problem? You tell me. I have none.
